and danielle nottingham. >> derek, tonight's debate will be on domestic issues. president obama will make his case for the next four years and mitt romney will be more specific about his plans for the country. when mitt romney and president obama meet on this stage for their first debate, more than 50 million viewers are expected to tune in. greg is an important member of that audience. he is an undecided voter. >> i think they are talking directly to me. >> wayland's top issue, the economy. >> that's going to be the thing for me. someone that comes forward with a cohesive plan for america and where america fits into that. >> both candidates have spent hours rehearsing for this moment. they'll face each other for 90 minutes. president obama has to avoid any major missteps and explain to voters why unemployment is

so high and the economic recovery so slow. >> i think what you'll hear the president do tonight is have a conversation directly with the american people about where we have been over the past four years and what we have to continue to do moving forward to strengthen our economy. >> romney who is trailing in the polls will be looking for a breakout moment. and voters will be looking to hear more details about his plan to lower taxes and the deficit. >> i think that you'll hear a great deal of specifics and most importantly, you'll hear the contrast. the president's reforms haven't done enough to help the economy. >> both campaigns have gone through the motions of lowering expectations for tonight. but both candidates are season debaters. >> it's all about the economy tonight. the first three 15 minute segments will be devoted to that topic. in denver, colorado, danielle nottingham, derek, back to you. >> all right, thank you danielle. back here, the political editor is with me. you have a focus group outside

the beltway to help us out. >> the correspondent organized a focus group in richmond, a half dozen people who are split parties and will talk to them and see when they sought. you're right, the judgment is who won? >> the big question among those voters must be, are any of them among the persuadeables? a small percentage out there. >> it's hard to tell how many people really are persuadeable at this point. for that matter, how many of our group are persuadeable. maybe they are. >> it will be interesting to watch. explain to folks how the fact checking will work tonight and how if they sign on to the website, they'll be able to understand what's going on. >> we'll be watching the debate like everyone else. we'll have staff picking lines and things that we think may be wrong. we'll be writing blurbs. someone said something that may

not have been true. >> you have cpr for the facts. >> we hope we can revive it. thank you for your time. let's head back to anita in the studio. >> we will check back in with you in a little bit. you can watch the debate right here on channel 9 beginning at 9:00 p.m. and on wusa9.com. the fact checking with what the candidates say will also live stream the debate on our website where we want you to join the conversation. then watch 9news at 11:00 for the most comprehensive debate coverage tonight. new at 7:00, an elderly man beaten unconscious. now police are trying to find the thugs responsible. it happened at about 3:30 tuesday afternoon, tuesday morning, that is, in silver spring. two brothers found their father. 72-year-old kendel beaten and unresponsive in the parking lot of an apartment building. police spent the afternoon handing out fliers looking for

any information. the victim's daughter said her dad didn't deserve this. >> my father, worked every single day to support his family in el salvador and to help us to take care of our family. these people, whoever did this to my father, i'm sorry. you have to pay for it. >> guzman remains in the hospital tonight with critical injuries. he cannot speak. call police if you have any information that could help and you could be eligible for $1,000 reward. another teenage girl assaulted by an apparent serial fondler. this latest attack happened last night in the 6200 block in springfield. >> i'm peggy fox in springfield where residents are on alert after another attack by a man who is grabbing young women from behind and groping them. this woman may be the fifth victim unknown to police because she didn't call them. she says a man grabbed her from

behind, grabbing her breast, right in front of her daughter. she says he wasn't out to rob her because he didn't steal her purse. >> i was scared to go out. >> police say the fourth attack happened last night around 7:15 near the corner of hibling avenue. each time, the creep grabs them from behind and fondles their breasts. >> grand master hahn demonstrates how to get out of a hold like that. he taught me how to do it in a few minutes. >> yes, like that. bang. >> in springfield, peggy fox, 9news now. >> this week we continue our look back at the d.c. sniper attacks ten years ago. inside a warehouorges county, e being preserved for a future exhibit. there's a 1990 chevy caprice.

also, a card left outside the middle school in bowie. the first attempt by that duo to communicate with police. there have so many items of evidence. they are working to get an accurate count. also tonight, we're hearing from the woman married to the man executed. people still blame milfred mohommed for his killing spree. >> mildred remembers living in fear. never thinking the man she was married to for 12 years was also the d.c. sniper. >> my fear was heightened above everyone else's and just trying to come to terms with if the sniper doesn't get me, then john will. >> she says the man she once loved was a different person once he returned from the gulf war and had said good-bye long before he became a killer. she said about their children

the day before their father was to be executed. >> they have to live with that fact of how he died and that he is no longer here. >> she says her three children are now in college and have come to terms with that fact. >> yes, this was my dad. this is what he did. he does not define who i am. i am who i make myself to be. >> do they call him dad? >> uh-huh. >> the fbi had told her she was the primary target during the three weeks of terror. and for that reason, there is still pain all these years later. >> because people blamed me. you know. if i were to stayed on the west coast, people on the east coast would still be alive. >> this is my second time interviewing mildred mohommed and she seems brighter and more open this time around. she is busy writing another book and being the spokesperson for an organization called

after the trauma. she travels to different military bases talking about ptsd and domestic violence. i'm surae chin for 9news. >> police in fairfax are out there looking for a missing teenager. his name is brian glenn and he was last seen on the school grounds of wt woodson high on monday morning. okay, he was seen there, but didn't end up going to class. his vehicle was found on picket road in fairfax. sky 9 flew over the scene a few minutes ago. investigators are out there, they are looking for glenn right now. please, call fairfax police if you may know where he could be. right now, we're also taking a live look at pictures of an oil refinery fire that is in texas. they are trying to douse the flames right now. so far, no injuries repord. there are a number of ambulances on the scene. we don't know what started the fire. we don't know if the entire facility has been evacuated. once we get more information, we'll update you live pictures there from bay town texas. now to a live look outside.

warm and humid out there today. topper shutt joins us from the weather terrace. how is the rest of the evening shaping up? >> more like summer, anita. temperatures well above average. humidity levels up. high was 82. it is still 79 downtown. 77 in manassas. low 70s even up to frederick and hagerstown and 78 down toward fredericksburg. satellite picture, radar combined. we have a lot of clouds. not much in terms of showers. we'll keep the chance of an isolated shower tonight. we are going to have fog tonight, but nothing like we had this morning. partly to mostly cloudy. still mild. isolated shower and lows in the 60s. even in the suburbs. we're talking mid to upper 60s. we'll come back and talk about the end of the week. a tale of two seasons between thursday and sunday. we'll explain. >> still ahead, will a speech president obama made in 2007 sway your vote in this election? we'll play you part of it in just a little bit.

plus, why legalizing pot may be dangerous for dogs. that story coming up after the break.

as d.c. prepares for the arrival of medical marijuana dispensaries, consider this. potential consequence of legalization. dogs on dope. in colorado, where marijuana has been legal for more than a decade, veterinarians are seeing more and more stoned dogs. most of the time vets say the dogs get high by eating their owner's food products that have been laced with pot. >> if you came home with a prescription of vice vicatin, you wouldn't leave it sitting there. >> others think it's funny to get the dogs stoned. there's nothing comical about giving your pet potentially dangerous drugs. a live look outside right

now at the capital. topper is along in a few minutes with a lock at your full forecast. plus, teddy, he wins. the longest losing streak in professional sports is over. we'll show you the crazy finish in a bit. president obama faces criticism for something he said the first time he ran for the white house. i'm tara at the white house with the story coming up.

back now hive live, as we cover tonight's first presidential debate. as both sides prepare for the big showdown tonight, a speech president obama gave five years ago may be making some political trouble for him. we get the story from tara at the white house. >> conservative media outlets build it as a bomb shell tape. a 2007 campaign speech where then senator obama criticizes the bush administration's response to hurricane katrina. >> what's happening down in new orleans? where is your dollar? tells me that somehow the people down in new orleans, they don't care about as much. >> speaking to a prodominantly black audience, obama suggested they were holding recovery money. after other major disasters, the government cut through the

red tape to provide aide. >> you are part of the american family. >> conservative commentators say the president's speech was racially charged and devicive. it did not cause controversy when it was covered five years ago and the senior adviser to mitt romney's campaign was asked whether it is relevant to the current election. >> voters have to make that up. they have to look at that video and make up their mind on that individually. >> the white house has not commented about the video, but a senior obama campaign adviser talked about it this morning. >> if the republicans want to defend the bush administration's response, i'm sure the president would give him time during the debate to do that. >> an attempt to change the subject from romney's comments made in a video that surfaced last month. he said 47% of americans are dependent on the government. tara for cbs news, the white house. >> now we should note that the romney campaign says it had nothing to do with the release of that video tape.

or the rerelease of the video tape of that speech since it happened five years ago and was covered at the time. but joining me now here at u.s.a. today election headquarters is paul singer. he is politics editor and he'll be taking part in the fact check that will keep you up to date on what's going on in that debate tonight. you have poll numbers that have been rolling over, giving us an idea of who is up and who is doing. show it to us on the computer. >> we have this poll tracker which we have built with our partners. it gives you the opportunity to go through and see in the various competitive states who is up and who is down at any given time. you can see the trends over time of who is up and who is down. this is what mitt romney is looking at right now. the gap over the past two weeks is clear and consistent. >> as this evolves, this will be updated tomorrow and you'll see whether or not the debate had the impact that romney is hoping it might have. >> it's rare that something like that is instant. you'll see it over the next couple of days. you'll see it show up and

you'll see it show up here. you'll see these lines converge. if obama wins big, you'll see it start to diverge. >> obviously we'll be chatting with you all night long as you fact check this debate. you can check it out live on wusa9.com. not only are we streaming it live, you can look at the fact check as it happens and you can understand when one candidate or the other is trying to pull a fast one. toss it back to you in the studio. >> multiplatform at its best. derek, thanks. we'll see you later. an update on a story we told you about yesterday. this woman wanted by police for trying to ride a manatee. a witness snapped this picture. anica turned herself into police last night. she didn't know manatee riding, joyriding, is against state law. okay. it's been one of the most devicive topics among washingtonians in recent memories. should teddy roosevelt finally win a race? like it or not, it happened this afternoon.

teddy was far behind, but in there jumps the philly fanatic. he knocks down the other three, clearing the way for an easy victory. the nats beat the philadelphia phillies 5-1. >> it was fitting. >> especially, they own the division. >> best record in baseball. that's good stuff. >> it is good stuff. long time coming. >> humid, almost like summertime, almost like september, but some big changes on the way. we'll take you through it. first things first, a live look outside. 82 is the high. we are still pretty toasty downtown. winds calm, pressure up just a little bit at 30.08 inches of mercury. okay, talk about the fall color. a couple e-mails on this. yesterday we told you why the leaves change in the first place. it is not all about the cold weather, it's about the shortness of the days. you jump the divide, you are near peek. you want to go out to garrett county, go this weekend. some good color showing up

west. some color, northern and western suburbs, and little or no change down to the south and east. if you want to plan a trip, the skyline drive, you have to wait another couple of weeks. satellite picture, radar combined, we can't stop the southerly tropical flow. clouds will linger again tonight. there's a slight chance of a shower and we have fog in the forecast, but not the dense fog we had last night and this morning. front is bisecting the metro area. another cold front pushes through tomorrow night. that will get us dryer air in here and set us up for a fantastic friday. tonight, we'll keep a chance for an isolated shower. especially toward i-81 and the mountains. so, warm through the week, rather mild tonight. more sun on thursday. and then a fantastic friday. weekend, still looks 50/50 with saturday being the better half. for tonight, partly to mostly cloudy, still mild. isolated shower. a little bit of fog. low temperatures in the 60s.

tomorrow morning, skies return partly sunny and warm. 60s and 70s. winds westerly at 10. by afternoon, a very nice day. partly cloudy, continued warm. got to keep the chance of an isolated shower or storm in. high temperatures 80 to 85. winds westerly at 10. next three days, keep it code green. 84 tomorrow. just great. fantastic on friday, 82. that is the winner no doubt. and even saturday will be nice. partly cloudy, i think most of the showers will come in saturday night after the terps game. so that is good news. temperatures in the upper 70s. next seven days, sunday we're going to keep it rainy and cool. only about 60. that includes tailgating. low 60s on monday. columbus day. upper 60s on tuesday and back in the mid 70s on wednesday. anita will be back as 9news continues after this.

and that's our report. i'll be back here at 11:00 along with derek and topper. stay with us on 9news and wusa9.com for complete debate coverage. it starts at 9:00. watch it and follow us online for the fact checking. just the facts. i'm anita brickman. good night.

"entertainment tonight," the worldwide leader in entertainment news. the presidential debate. hollywood takes sides. >> this guy says i'm going to do this. i want them to do it. >> do it. >> from backstage at "dancing with the stars." all of the way to denver. the stars sound off today. >> politicians would like to be rock stars. plus, we have oprah's revealing new interviews with the candidates and their wives. star plastic surgery. kris jenner, gene simmons, wrapped like mummies. "the hunger games'" star new look. plus, jennie garth divorce diet. how the 90210 star dropped 30 pounds after the marriage fell apart. jessica simpson fighting mad and ready to sue. her plan to take legal action.